Happy New Year! plus 1 More Kitty for the Bunch!

Happy New Year!...almost!On this eve of the new year, I wish you a wonderful and safe, happy and fulfilling 2013!

 Our plans are simple~~ringing in 2013 here at home.  My husband is working today so when he comes home, we plan to pick up a bunch of favorite appetizers from a local restaurant and enjoy a mini New Year's Eve party in my very own family room. I'm making a nice dinner so the kids will get to pick out their favorite appetizers as a first course! It will be a fun night of board games, reading  and tv and just relaxing in our jammies as we snack, snack, snack! We had been invited to a small New Year's party at a neighbor's house, and generally I would consider that since we could walk there and the kids were invited as well, but we opted to stay home and take it slow.  I don't like to travel in a car on this night for fear of crazy drivers, and I always prefer to be with my kids for the evening as it is New Year's for them too! We ring in the New Year as a family! only my husband will probably fall asleep before midnight! It's very cold here so jammies suit me just fine!

This evening always brings back memories of my childhood when my grandparents would be down from Connecticut visiting us for all of Christmas week. On New Year's Eve we would have Chinese food and play an old card game called 7 1/2! My Mom would be busy preparing for the next day's New Year's Day dinner where we would again have a house full of relatives visit for a big meal just like Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! My grandfather owned a Carvel in Danbury, Connecticut so he would close the "store", as he called it, for one week in the winter to come down to Long Island and visit. We would watch the ball drop at midnight! I have faint memories of Guy Lombardo toasting in the new year! Good times and even better memories.

Now I would like you to meet our newest addition:  Patches! Miss Patches is a tortoise cat and approximately 4 years old. She had been a stray in our yard for the last 2 years. She's a sweet little girl with six toes on each front paw and a broken tail! We finally were able to coax her in the other day and now she is sleeping in regularly and enjoying the life of a house cat! She does still like to go outside, but I am happy that she understands that she can come in and sleep, eat, etc. Welcome little Patches! aka Patchie Poo. She joins Robin, Dixie, and Red Cat who have accepted her as sister! There's always room for one more, right?

We did get some snow the other day but then it rained and then it snowed again; just enough to make the grass and bushes white and pretty! I photographed the planter my son gave me for Christmas too. Isn't it lovely? And you can change out the plant and put anything you like...mums for Fall, tulips for Spring.....

I'm thinking of all the things I want to accomplish in 2013--making mental notes and written notes in my notebook. So many craft projects I want to do. I'm happy to say that for the most part I do ALMOST complete my wish list of projects! I hope to do the same this year. I want to do some fabric pictures with appliques, more button crafts and I have been seeing so many posts about glittered putz houses that I am going to try them as well! I also want to make some ornaments for my new Christmas tree! As for cooking, well that is another favorite pastime andI have a ton of recipes I want to try!

Happy New Year! See you in 2013!

Snow is on the Way!

It's Saturday morning, and snow is on the way! I love snow! I don't want a blizzard as it could conflict with my husband's business, but I do love a good couple of inches and that is what the tv weatherman is predicting for us North Fork Long Islanders!

I wanted to share a few special photos from Christmas~~I got some lovely gifts and very thoughtful ones too! It's so appreciated when someone gives you a gift and you realize that they purchased it for you or made it for you because they KNOW you. One of my husband's sisters prepared a beautiful basket for me filled to the brim with craft supplies! I was stunned when I opened it for I thought it was a basket of cheese and candy when it was still wrapped! Come to think of it--chesse and candy describe me too.....To my surprise it was filled with eveything from new shears, to a new glue gun, felt, pipe cleaners, ribbons, embroidery floss, thread, fabric glue, craft glue and bag after bag of decorative buttons and appliques. She gave me decorative buttons and affixes for all the seasons--everything from gingerbread men to hearts to snowflakes and sunflowers! What an amazing gift, and she told me she had so much fun putting it together :)  What great use it will all get over this Winter. I have lots of projects planned!..but that's another post :)

Some other gifts I loved were this beautiful owl, which was one of the gifts my Mom gave me. She knows my love for owls which is actually a new collection I had started about two years ago. ...although roosters are still my favoriotes :)   I got one of those too from another sister-in-law----who also knows me VERY WELL and knows I love birds. Each year she has given me a gift with a cardinal. Last year she gave me a beautiful Yankee Candle cardinal birdhouse and this year she presented me with a beautiful wheel barrel with cardinals! I haven't found a place for it yet but for now I have it in front of my bench in the family room.  We'll see after Christmas! I got a beautiful "Welcome" planter filled with winter greens from my son. It is a planter for my porch that you can use all year 'round. He also got me a flag with another of my favorite birds on it---black capped chickadees! Yankee candles and several dvds of old tv shows I like too--he purchased it all with the money he made from working with my husband last Summer. My son loves to give gifts and make people happy. He may be only 13 years old but he knows what someone likes and does his best to find it!

 

I thought my Christmas ham looked amazing so she deserved a photo! It was delicious!

 

 

 

 Our Christmas Day menu began with a pasta dish from one of my favorite blogs, October Farm; it's a farfalle pasta with a pink tomato sauce that has with browned sausage. I have made this recipe several times now and everyone loves it! I knew my nephews would love it too so I made a batch as a starter and it was big hit. Traditionally, Italian meals begin with a a pasta! We then enjoyed ham, roasted potatoes, zucchini augratin (from the Neeleys show of Food Network) REALLY GOOD!, broccoli / cheese casserole, applesauce, corn, fried asparagus and glazed carrots!

 

The desserts were too numerous to name! I made mini cherry- topped cheesecakes, we had home made cookies, Napolean cake and  others that I must keep my distance from ;)  My sister received, at her Christmas Eve dinner, a gingerbread layer cake from the famous Magnolia Bakery in NYC. One of her guests brought it and she gave me a piece to taste. What an incredible cake. I felt as thought I needed a really BIG fork to eat it! It's so fun to have something different at the holidays. I know I would never be able to afford the Magnolia Bakery but it was a treat to taste something from it!

 

Before I go, I have to tell you about my Christmas bargains! Yesterday when I went to Walgreens, I saw that the Christmas lights were 50% off. Great! My husband had said that when we take the tree down this year to dispose of the lights because we had them several years, and we don't want to be risky and next year put our tree up and have the lights go out! So next year it would be all new lights...okay, sounds good. I don't want to live dangerously! So I got 10 boxes of multi lights for 2.14 each! YEAH! That's a good start for next year! But wait! It gets even better!

 

 As I was putting ten boxes of lights into my cart, the manager of Walgreens, who I know from my frequent visits, says to one of the employees "Mark down those pre-lit trees that are left!  $5!"   Hurray! I got a  pre- lit 4 1/2 ft tree that originally sold for $24.99 for only $5! (I'm jumping for joy here). It's going somewehere in my house...either in front of my big kitchen window OR it is going into my family room in the basement by my fireplace! Where ever she goes, she was $5!!!!!  I also picked up red and white lights to add to her (even though she's prelit, I wanted to add some red)  and a couple of packages of red bead strands as well! Too bad I have to wait till next year but it will be fun collecting and making ornaments to decorate it with over the next months!I'm thinking I may go with a food/candy/cooking theme if she goes in my kitchen. What a bargain...good thing I'm a good eavesdropper!

 

Well, time for me to get started with my day and wait for the snow! Have a great one!

 

 

Merry Christmas to All!

 

The Christmas cards have all been sent, the packages have been wrapped. The last bit of cooking being done for tonight and tomorrow...then it's time to sit back and enjoy the festivities! Wishing you a merry Christmas!

My Favorite Things

It's cold outside! Just how I like it! And they are predicting a white Christmas for us! A small "system", as they call it, sweeping in Christmas Eve into Christmas morning~the Farmer's Almanac predicted it too...just saying.....don't doubt the almanac ....those farmers know what they're talking about!

 

Here is my main Christmas tree! It's in the family room. A 7 1/2 ft frasier fir that has been lasting due to her love of sugar :) and the fact that she is in front of my  sliding glass doors and NOT in front of the baseboard heat!

 

 

 

The Gurley candle choir collection! They are singing for the birth of our Saviour next to the manger.
Did I mention I had purchased these candles at a garage sale two years ago for about $2.00 the whole lot!!!! They still have their labels on their bottoms and the reindeer has a tag on his antler! I love Gurley candles and in the past had purchased some on Ebay for Halloween and Thanksgiving. These were like finding a treasure!

Speaking of garage sales, here is a find from earlier this year. This beautiful wire shelf for $3! I had it on one of my covered porches this Summer with plants. Now she is in the kitchen under my big window holding some battery operated snowmen. I think I will be keeping it under that window all year long.

Here is a full picture of my mitten/hat box and when I went to Christmas Tree Shoppe with my friend I saw this mitten/hat tree and it was a must have! We truly use it too--not just for show. What  handy little item and super cute too :)

Now all of us have our favorite Christmas items--mine is my gingerbread collection or chalkware 1940's nativity set...well, Robin LOVES our iceskating teddy bear. This is one of those wind up skating ponds and the little bear skates by a magnet attached to his base. Robin watches and watches; never knocking the bear off--oh nooo. HE likes to watch it skate over and over and over. When Billy went to move it from the chair, Robin put his paw on Billy's hand as if to say "no, no, no...I'm still watching!"

Some up close of the gingerbread collection....

and we added the gingerbread houses the kids made.They did well. My son was joking and put his green gumdrops in the rear of his gingerbread house. He said they are Leland Cypress--what a clown he is. You see, if you read my posts over the Summer you would know my son planted 38 Leland Cypress bushes around our house! So now his gingerbread house has them too :)

Time to get cooking! I spent yesterday doing prep work for my guests for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This morning I willdo some more before everyone gets up! Then my husband Bill and I are going to do some Christmas shopping for the kids while they stay at Grandma's for a bit.
Yesterday I prepared stuffed shells, meatballs, italian spinach bread, mini cheesecakes, cupcakes and a zucchini casserole! Still have a lot more to do though! We are big eaters here  :)   Have a great day!

The Joy of the Season

Good morning friends! It's been almost a month since my last post; I hate long interims between posts but it was a necessary one as catching up after Hurricane Sandy with everything I needed to do was a must. It really had quite an effect on us all because Thanksgiving arrived almost unexpectedly due to our isolation from the world! Sadly, what happened at Sandy Hook also made it sad to push on. If you scroll back in my posts to "Connecticut!" you will see how much I adore NewTown when I was there this last Summer. Broke my heart to see such a tragedy. I pray for them all.

I had started decorating the day after Thanksgiving, and we even put our live Christmas tree up a week earlier than we normally do. Our Christmas tree salesman said that if you buy a frasier fir (which I always do) and you add soda or sugar to the water, she will last, last, last. He was right! My tree has been up since the second week of December and she is looking good! I have my gingerbread tree in the foyer and several other small trees throughout the house. My Holly Hobbie tree stays up all year long in my parlor :) as I love Holly, and she reminds me of my happy childhood days growing up in the 1970's. Below is the mittens and hat box I purchased over the Summer in Stormville at the big flea market. I paired it with a mitten tree I bought at Christmnas Tree Shoppe in my foyer.

I will be hosting Christmas Eve and Christmas Day~~two big days with two big meals! Makes me pleased as punch to prepare it all. Yesterday was the last of my  food shopping trips to Best Yet Market and the hustle and bustle of the shoppers, while irritating to some, made me so happy! I love it! Everyone was nice, and I even got a few recipes from strangers! SO many "Have a merry Christmas" and "Enjoy your dinner!" remarks; it was so festive. As I was looking for puff pastry, I directed an elderly couple to the herring to which the lady replied "Thank you, I see it now. Oh, make sure you eat herring on New Year's Eve. It brings good luck in the new year!"  So sweet! Waiting at the deli counter for my prosciutto and soppresata for my appetizer platter, it reminded me of standing in the Italian specialty store in the neighborhood I grew up in with my Grandma and Grandpa. They ordered all kinds of good stuff that we ate only once a year. We would walk there and back and it was exciting to make those special food purchases. Christmas was here! My kids are very excited when they see our refrigerator packed with items to prepare our feasts. The house smells so good!

We have spent some nice days doing nice things this month as well. We attended the Christmas show at our church which was very good. It was a combination play/song/dance production so it really got you in the mood for the holidays. My Ladies Bible class held their Christmas brunch which was awesome! Ther are about 80 ladies in our group and it was a "bring a dish" brunch. Oh my! It was grand!More recipes! I brought my Mom with me and my good friend Christina brought her Aunt, and we had such a fun time.

The kids made gingerbread houses for our gingerbread area (the foyer) and we also made these adorable cardboard models of Santa's workshop and the Nativity scene. My son was thrilled when for the first time I unpacked my collection of Gurley Christmas candles. I have had them for quite a long time but never displayed them (why I don't know, I think because I just ran out of time!). I set the choir up next to our manger and it looks adorable. I have to photograph it and I will show it next post.

AND...my son put up our Christmas village! He set this up in basement and it looks amazing. I will leave you with those photos!  Have a blessed day! I must get cooking!

Happy to be Back after the Hurricane!

Hurricane Sandy has come and gone and left us all on the east coast with quite a trail of destruction. Thank you so much to those of you who sent me emails inquiring about our fate here on Long Island where we were all struck quite badly. I am happy to report that our home and family came through it all just fine, but we do have our share of horror stories and it's bewildering to see the destruction around us.

As for my own home here in Commack, we sustained heavy branches falling, a power surge that caused a small flood and power outages that lasted for two weeks. No phone, electric, heat or internet can be quite a humbling experience albeit a good one as I realize how much time is lost on the internet and phone. I am grateful to be up and running once again since this past weekend. It was quite a harrowing experience. Caitlin was very distressed as the storm was happening and there was just noplace to hide from it. It was loud and the sound of things crashing was unnerving to say the least. A utility pole fell in front of my house as did two trees. One tree crushed two of my neighbor's cars and another tree crushed their front porch. Further down my block, a ranch was demolished by falling trees. All in all, at least three houses down my block were struck by trees and on the block over from us more than five. There was no easy entry into my development for days. It was truly terrifying to see the winds raging and the destruction before us. Nine utility poles in all fell JUST ON MY BLOCK!  Again, a whole lot of clean up but even more thankfulness that our damage was superficial. School was closed for two weeks because during all of this mess we also got hit with a n'oreaster! We received about 5 inches of snow on top of the downed trees, poles and wires. It was brutal. I was thinking "what's next? A tidal wave?  We are on an Island!"  Then more sadness....

To make matters worse, the day after the storm hit, our beloved cat Dutchess passed away. Dutchess, aka Dutchie or Dutchie Doodle Bug was the calico I joke about in the last post that enjoyed pillaging my Halloween village. She was a super sweet old lady who passed away peacefully in her sleep at the age of approximately 18 years. Sadly, we had to hold on to her for three days as veterinarian offices were closed due to no power and streets were impassable. It was just another incident in a time of distresss that made us sadder and helpless. On the third day my husband was finally able to get her to Commack Animal Hospital for cremation.They had limited power and were still closed but Billy knocked on the door and told them of our situation. They took Dutchess from us.
 Life went from being easy to  extremely hard that week dealing with such situations. Rest in Peace my  Dutchess. We adopted her from a vet's office years back and she was a wonderful, loving pussycat.
Gas lines and empty food stores were another complication.

It's so sad to see the damage to our beaches and complete neighborhoods washed away. I would listen to a transistor radio and hear about New Jersey's devastation and about Staten Island (which is about an hour or so from me) and it is mind boggling. Our schools and community have organized different drives for help and our Brownie troop is collecting pajamas and books for kids. Another group is collecting coats and hats. Yet another is collecting toiletries.
The goodness in people is shining through.

Before the hurricane, some good stuff had been happening at our house in October! Check out these sweet guys! And also my popcorn monster cups! I made so much more stuff but as is the case usually when you host a party, you don't get to take photos!

 

 We had our Halloween party two days before the hurricane hit and the kids had a great time! About 15 guests came mostly our Brownie troop.
Caitlin helped make party favors and some of the treats. We also made goody boxes instead of goody bags. We used Halloween decorated popcorn boxes and filled them with little toys and candy. It was a nice change! Caitlin cut out black paper bats from a template and we glued eyes and added black tulle to attach our fruit roll ups to! Hence we made Fruit Bats! I had bought three big rolls of black tulle from a garage sale this Summer for fifty cents a roll, and I knew I would use it for Halloween in some way or another!
Here are some photos of our table with just SOME of the goodies we had. The kids had so much fun. A very old fashioned party with games like hot potato, musical chairs, a pinata and simple backyard games. I enjoy our Halloween party so much. I was also glad that we had it because no one in our area could go safely trickor treating! That was such a let down  but the wise decision to make since clearly there were wires and limbs blocking every inch of the streets. Since the hurricane ended I have heard from three different Moms thanking me for the party, and they said that our party made it less painful for the kids missing trick or treating!  Made me smile :)

Here's what I worked on during the storm!

While I had no power and just  generator for a few hours of the day (before she died ) I did do alot of crafts and cleaning! I started making gourd bird houses and I did some arrangements. We have to keep busy right? I used my dried hydrangeas for several projects. I wish my camera took better photos of them.

I  also put all the Halloween away and decorated for Thanksgiving!

I made the display above with branches from my yard that I sprayed with sealer. Hey, I can keep myself very busy during a storm! I'm quite good as a shut in :)

Now I am concentrating my efforts of Thanksgiving. I make a big breakfast on Thanksgiving morning that we enjoy while watching the Macys Thanksgiving Day parade and then we are going to my sister's house for dinner. I hope to blog again before Thursday!

Have a wonderful and safe day!

Someone is Peeking at you!

 

Believe me when I say that! In my house, there are "eyes" everywhere! This mister on the front porch of my sister's home greets visitors with arms wide open and a happy smile! I hope you all are enjoying this Fall seaason and are smiling just as broadly!

When I look around my home, I actually noticed that there are so many birds and wildlife watching me--albeit they are artificial! Okay, so my "real" cats watch my every move as well waiting to eat or to cuddle-- but the many birds and roosters and squirrels in my house, their bodies made of wood or resin or ceramic, all watch me too! My little friends! And I love them so much. I thought I would introduce you to some of them starting with the  little ones who watch me do the dishes--they are fascinated by the scrubbing and seem to say "Oh my! The suds!" Mr. Duck loves to watch the water rise over the plates. It's all I can do to keep him from joining in and paddling around my sink!

Above my sink in my decorative scale, a little friend has made quite a nice comfy home in the straw. Suspended above my head as I do those dishes,  it's a perfect place to see everything going on in my busy kitchen. Plus, she tells me when I've missed a spot!

Hanging from the curtain rod is a lovely green ladle and believe it or not, a little bird has made his nest in it! Isn't it cozy? Why even when I made a new display in the kitchen in my pumpkin basket, a bird made a nest! How do they get in the house to do so?  :)  Perhaps they fly in the open windows on beautiful sunny days. And then, wouldn't you know it, he invited one of his friends to build another nest hanging from the curtain rod! Oh my goodness! I guess there's room for everybody!

And now we move on to other rooms in my home --the bathroom!

Congratulations are in order for a new Mom! Above my light fixture is a nest with two darlings.

Sooo cute but oh soooo noisy!  They chirp all day and they chirp all night!

I have to admit it did take some time for me to get used to my friends in the bathroom. High above my head, two little birds who flew in one day found a comfortable spot to perch! We have a cathedral ceiling in our bathroom and these two perched themselves on the decorative molding on the base of the cathedral. They find the most amazing places! And they get plenty of sun from the skylight! Do you see them? They chatter with my friend Miss Chicken who resides on top of my medicine cabinet next to the washboard and basin. She's quite a nag about the laundry, but I love her anyway.

If I have told my children once, I have told them a hundred times--close the front door!! See, the little squirrels have come in and made their home in my parlor! One mama is even raising her family--see the babies peeking out at her?And her neighbor is another bird family. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

Back to the eating area of my kitchen, there are more residents. At least this one is contributing to our egg supply! She brought along her kids to chirp, chirp, chirp....

The walls will stretch to fit us all, I'm sure! And yet more nests, more squirrels, a couple chipmunks...A man who has friends should count himself lucky! I have both two-legged and four legged, living and artificial and I love them all. 

Moving on to the family room, well my two little ducks are keeping Raggedy Anne company as she does her knitting but sometimes these two brother ducks argue with each other. You see,  our buddy on the ground wants to find a place next to Annie too but our buddy on the bench says "there's no room!" so sometimes we hear some sniping between them but it usually ends rather quickly. Besides, no one wants to disturb Mr. &  Mrs. Birdie who have just made their home in a rusty mailbox and have proclaimed it their "COTTAGE".

 Silly, I am being today ;)  but it sure was fun!

  I hope you enjoyed the introductions.

I have been busy with lots of good things--still decorating, working with my Brownie troop, cooking, Church class and crafts. I unpacked one of my favorite items for Halloween that I have--My Warren Kimble "Pumpkin Dreams" plates and mugs. I treasure these, and I only have four of each. These were bought at such a bargain several years back. I found them after Halloween at Kohls on clearance for $5 for the set of 4 plates, and $5 for the set of 4 mugs. I remember seeing them on the shelf with the big red clearance sticker and being slightly startled and then a little paranoid that someone was behind me just waiting to take them out of my hands....my imagination. They were such a steal and I love them because that black cat reminds me of MY black cat Robin. Now if only I could find the pumpkin dreams flag...

I'm excited that the temps are dropping tonight--by 25 degrees!! We are gonna be chilly here for sure, and I couldn't be happier! I have already put extra blankets on the end of Billy's and Caitlin's beds and added some throw blankets to the family room and basement family room. You never know when you need to curl up with a blanket right? My kids are big snugglers. They've both been suffering with sinus infections, and I made them some hot grits. My kids love hot cereal.  Even us Northerners like grits!

When I opened the cupboard to take out the grits, I saw the Quaker oatmeal box so I made some cookies too. Caitlin threw in some chocolate chips. She's a chocolate lover like me :)  Maybe we will make some more today.

In cool weather, I could cook all day!  I made a big pot of turkey soup on Wednesday. We gave some to a friend from Church whose daughter has been suffering with a bad cold that keeps hanging on and on.  What's better than soup? A homemade remedy!

Finally, sadly our village has been pillaged....or is this a scene from a 1950's Japanese horror movie?

Oh Dutchess, why, why WHY????  You can't live in this neighborhood!  Even the headless horseman tried to evict her by throwing a pumpkin at her but that didn't work.  Within seconds she was fast alseep on top of our candy apple covered bridge and cemetery. We did end up moving the village to safer quarters, and we neglected to send Dutchess a change of address card  :)  but as every cat owner knows, it's just a matter of time till she finds it, sleeps on it, we let her sleep, we pray she won't break anything, and we pack it up for next Halloween.   Us cat lovers are soooo easy.

I hope you have a wonderful Saturday and have time to snuggle too :)